


Devour

by Lyumia



Series: Rare Pair Week 2k18 [6]
Category: Bloodborne (Video Game), Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Blood, Blood Drinking, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, M/M, NSFW
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-03-22 04:14:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13756089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyumia/pseuds/Lyumia
Summary: Vilebloods fed on impure vitae. This one was no different.





	1. Prologue

It began when he was pulled into a corner of the workshop, or rather beckoned by a simple gesture. The haggard old man sat hunched in his wheelchair, speaking softly. “Kunsel, my boy.” He stepped closer, the bandages around his eyes obscuring the path paired with the natural darkness in the workshop. 

But a hunter was no stranger to to dark, spending many nights patrolling the darkened streets of yharnam with the aid of special blood that made shadows easier to distinguish. “There's a new arrival, coming to the workshop. Given your experience in guiding new hunters…” Both their gazes shifted to the window where they could see a hunter with wild black hair bickering playfully with another. “Are you up for the task?”

“Yes, of course. Do you know them Gherman?” He watched the man's features for a hint of emotion, but it hardly changed from the frown the old Hunter normally sported. He didn't offer any more details, merely waving him away and pointing him towards a squad looking to enlighten themselves in the tombs of the ancients.

He didn't meet the stranger until the beasts became strangely aggressive and large. Their bones snapping and fur blistering from their skin. A kind of poison that had elevated beyond an internal illness, gherman had said. He was pulling his saw spear out of the torso of one when he heard the steps behind him against the cobble. Spinning around he aimed his blade at the stranger who merely stood lax in the midst of the dark wine hued fluids soaking the brick streets. Blond hair caught in the wind and almost glowed in the silvers of moonlight bending over the tall houses of the city. 

“You must be Kunsel.” An accent welcomed his ears. Soft and biting, a contrast of airy vowels and hard consonants. “Gherman told me you would be the one to help me familiarize myself with the land.” His blue eyes glinted in the darkness, a tell tale shine that made Kunsel swallow thickly in answer. 

He lowered his head regardless and raised his arm in a short greeting. “That'd be me.” When he looked back up he could see the strange hunter prowling around him, a red cloth with a golden lion emblazoned in its fabric fluttering with his long hair in the metallic breeze. “What's your name outsider?”

“Call me… Cloud.” He stopped circling and planted his feet in front of him, extending a leather hand. The tips were pointed as if there were wicked claws beneath, stirring unease in his gut. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kunsel.”

When he purred his name with the hint of something inhuman, a tickling sensation picked at his grey matter. Still, he managed a smile and shook Cloud’s gloved hand, which was uncomfortably cold to the touch.“Pleasure.” 

When Cloud smiled, all he could see were sharp teeth. 


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't hard to figure out what Cloud was, from the few nights they spent together running through the streets and slashing at humpback monsters that screech at them beneath their sick ward blankets and bandages. It didn't become obvious until the talons of a crow dug into his shoulder and ripped open his skin that he saw it. 

Understanding it was another matter. Skeletons resting upon piles of ashes and demonic creatures dancing around them, parading a coffin through a barren and dark place where a comforting cold seeped into their rotting flesh. 

Red and yellow bid hello to him in a swirl. With a blink he banished the haziness and found himself staring back into glowing blue eyes inches away from his own face. He stiffened, aware of the hands that were in his clothes and pressing against his bare flesh. Chilling, but not unwelcome between the sweat and grime that naturally built up in the night of a hunt. “Good morning.” Cloud's lyrical voice repeated. “I was worried you died for moment. 

That brought his hand to his wound. Only to find sore skin there, pink and raw. “I was out of bloodviles.” He looked back up to the blond with suspicion. “What did you give me?”

Cloud only picked up his massive broadswords and stared down at him. His eyes revealed nothing but pain, with a strange crossbreed of grieving and guilt. Kunsel pulled himself up and called off their hunt. Retreating to his own home and laying down with a strange curiosity burning in his veins, gingerly touching the wound that disappeared completely within a few hours. He would find out more about his strange companion.

“What was cainhurst like?” He kept his gaze trained on Cloud’s face while the pugnant silence followed his question lingered in the air. They sat in the garden of the hunter’s workshop on a blanket littered with food amongst tombstones of the fallen. The sun was high in the sky, casting the shadows of tree blossoms above their head. 

“Cold.” He finally answered. He picked up a teacup that clattered against the plate, sipping it slowly. “My mother was a hunter, and for most of my life I had spent it following her in the castle and helping the other hunters maintain their weapons. One of their warriors became… interested in me. He was the one who trained me to become a hunter.” He contemplated something while staring into his tea, sliding his thumb back and forth on the side. “Even though we usually walk through the city alone as hunters, most of what we did was seek dregs for our queen. There was no cooperation. Everyone was your enemy. Everyone was seeking favor with her.” 

“That does sound lonely.” He gravitated closer, drawn by the melodic quality of his voice. Until now he barely heard Cloud speak since their initial arrival, and now that the man was speaking he felt an inexplicable desire to hear more. “How did you get by?” 

Blue eyes flicked up, staring back at him with strong emotions broiling within them. “I drank. I drank myself into a stupor on the blood of vilebloods.” Cloud bit out with a harsh sound. The hairs on his arms rose and he shivered. He couldn’t call the sensation that seized him fear. To say that would ignore the fact he felt uncomfortably warm in his hunter garb. “Any physical loneliness is irrelevant when you have the essence of another in your veins.” 

“You’re a  diablarist .” He whispered, looking down at the sharp teeth poking through Cloud’s sheepish smile at the accusation.

“It’s not a symptom from consuming the blood of a vileblood,” He assured, taking off his gloves to reveal blacked nails that curve into deadly pointed tips. “When I transferred the Choir summoned me and tried to purge the curse out of me. These were the result of that."

He inched closer to Cloud, tentatively reaching for his hands. They would hard and cold, more so around the tips where calluses.The nails themselves were hard and inflexible, and when dragged across his flesh they left angry red lines. Some of them bleed, little spheres standing out on his skin. He looked up at Cloud whose eyes were regarding him with fondness. “What else happened to you?”

His smile dimmed somewhat, but Cloud indulged in his request regardless. He tugged his hand out of Kunsel’s lightly, and with a quick jerk of his finger he slit his wrist. His mouth went dry while he watched the stream of ruby trickle down the curve of Cloud’s wrist. He held it up to be level with his face. “Drink.”

That was all he needed before leaned forward and lapped up the the blood. He dragged his tongue up to the cut. Cloud pushed him off easily, pointing down at where he had scraped himself with cloud’s claws. He marveled as he watched the lines fade away. “When the crows knocked me out…” Cloud didn’t answer but Kunsel already knew that was exactly what happened. “What other effect did it have on me?”

“I never intended to…” The blond sighed, shaking his head. “At the moment nothing significant. You may find yourself able to take more attacks but unless we form a blood bond...”

Kunsel inhaled sharply at that, and now it was Cloud’s turn to carefully observe his reaction. Blood bonds are formed between hunters, due to the nature of their work it was reserved for marriages, where lovers would partake in drinking each other’s blood to bring themselves closer. “Do you… Would you like to form one with me?”.

“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate. “But not now. A blood bond is… not a simple thing to me.” Cloud’s voice was quiet, seeming to become part of the caress of the wind. “Take your time deciding. The third time you drink my blood, we will engage in unholy communion as lovers.” They sat in silence. Finishing their food. The weight of Cloud’s promise pressing at his skull.

There was a time where hunts became infrequent, where Kunsel would sit idly with Cloud watching the few beasts creep through the streets from rooftops. He brought Cloud flowers, lavishing the vileblood with gifts and compliments to watch him blush and smile. This time Cloud brought him a gift, while it wasn’t unusual for him to offer small things like antidotes and sedatives, Kunsel was left marveling at the bracelet hosting a bright red blood gem framed by gold. “It’s a custom.” He explained hastily, offering no more details than that. He wore it around his wrist above his glove, admiring the red gleam in the darkness of his room. 


End file.
